Merey Woodbridge
Merey Woodbridge was a female human in the Emeron campaign. Summary Merey was the wife of King Koris Woodbridge and therefore the Queen of Emeron. She was killed in 1159, reportedly in an assassination attempt on her daughter, Queen Joycie, and her son by law. Background Merey Woodbridge (nee Etiamond) was the younger sister of Duke Reddin Etiamond. She was a shrewd and ambitious woman and when her marriage as arranged to Crown Prince Koris Woodbridge she was both affronted that she was being married off for political power and excited at the opportunity to be the most powerful woman in the kingdom one day. She got her chance when Queen Prenzla died in 1120 and Koris became king. Koris and Merey frequently butted heads on matters, her cold, shrewdness did not mesh well with his warm heart and optimism. Nonetheless there were good times between the two as well and they would go on to have four daughters together. One of their biggest disagreements was Koris' wish to allow his daughters to marry for love, and her desire to marry them off to powerful nobles to strengthen their ties to the Crown. Ultimately Merey won this argument, and Koris had agreed to arrange the marriage of three of his daughters. A great deal of the palace intrigue that took place was either at her behest or least known about by her. She had been known to whisper in the king’s ear with regard to a variety of matters, however he usually disregarded some of her more morally questionable advice (even if it was shrewdly practical). She and Duchess Sybeth Talsar despised one another, as the duchess would often and loudly opine on the collection of people with rotten morals surrounding the king. Many took the barely veiled slights to be directed at Queen Merey, which of course they were. When King Koris fell ill there were many rumors stating that Merey was responsible and would try to claim the throne upon the King’s death or to simply try to be the power behind Princess Joycie’s throne and rule in all but name after the King dies. History King Koris died on the 14th of Unicorn, 1159 and his eldest daughter Joycie Woodbridge succeeded him. Joycie was something of a vapid and spoiled girl with little head for statecraft. As a result both Merey and Joycie's husband, Baron Geoffry Ravenut, immediately began vying to influence the girl. After the attack on Strade Hall Merey was able to convince Queen Joycie that Duchess Sybeth Talsar and her elven heir Dame Malia Waerblue, were responsible and to arrest them and strip them of their power. There was little evidence of this, and most suspected it was motivated by Merey's hatred of the duchess. Nevertheless, Joycie was convinced and assented to Merey's advice. Death In the middle of the night on the 10th of Lion, 1159, a trio of individuals invaded Castle Finarte. Reportedly they attempted to assassinate Queen Joycie Woodbridge and her husband Geoffry Ravenut. The effort failed, but Queen Mother Merey was said to have been caught in the crossfire and died and could not be resurrected. The assassins were slain but according to the Crown they were sent by Duke Riffin Etiamond (Merey's nephew) and his wife Princess Atril (Joycie's own sister.) The apparent motive was to have Atril inherit the throne as Joycie and Geoffry had not yet convinced an heir. Whispers soon surfaced that though the assassins may have been sent, that Queen Merey was not a target and was not killed by them, although there is nothing but speculation to back up those rumors. Personality and Appearance Queen Merey was a shrewd woman who some say enjoyed her elevation position of queen a little too much. She was cold and calculating and manipulative, but quite intelligent and charming when she wanted to be. Physically the Queen was a rather large woman, standing 5’11” and by the time of her death rather plump. Her steel grey eyes and matching hair showed every day of years but even for her age she was quite stunning and very forceful. Category:Emeron Category:Characters Category:Nobles